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The government is determined to work with the car industry to increase take-up, boost jobs and hit emissions targets • Cheaper loans on table to drive UK motorists to electric, plus cuts in EV fines for firms The push to electric vehicles is not about a culture war. It is a simple choice. Do we set UK industry up to take advantage of the changes that are coming? Or do we sit it out, allowing our competitors to lap us while we decide whether to change our tyres or not? The previous government, including the current leader of the opposition , might have been content to play politics with people’s jobs by delaying the deadline for ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. But this government is not. Continue reading...

Ban on new petrol and diesel cars starts in 2030 but government may change rules for some models Car manufacturers may be allowed to sell Toyota Prius-style hybrid models in the UK until 2035, as the government looks at ways to loosen electric vehicle sales rules. Earlier this week, the government launched a fast-track consultation to determine what types of electric vehicles carmakers can sell after a ban on new petrol and diesel cars, which is due to come into force from 2030. Continue reading...

The row over electric vehicles is just the start. The change to a green economy was always going to be politically explosive Have cake, will eat. For years it has been the default political response to awkward questions about the climate crisis, with successive governments insisting that going green would create jobs, not destroy them, and that the planet could be saved without stifling growth or demanding uncomfortable sacrifices. Keir Starmer promised only this month not to “tell people how to live their lives”, suggesting the road to net zero would not be quite as painful as some think. And then, this week, he hit a pothole. The carmaker Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall, announced it was closing its van factory in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk ; its rival Ford is axing 800 jobs . In Sunderland, Nissan has warned of an industry at “ crisis point ”. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Exclusive: Stellantis executive’s recent comments to investors undermine claim Luton closure was down to emission mandate No need to mourn Just Eat’s exit from LSE The owner of Vauxhall told investors that it was “confident” it would meet the UK’s rules on electric vehicle sales just two months before it blamed them for the decision to close a factory in Luton, the Guardian can reveal. Stellantis cited the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate when it announced the closure of its van factory in Bedfordshire on Tuesday, putting 1,100 workers at risk of redundancy or relocation to its factory making smaller vans in Ellesmere Port. Continue reading...

Governor Gavin Newsom plans on creating new version of state rebate program as president-elect threatens EV credits California could offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle (EV) purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates the federal EV tax credit, the state’s governor said on Monday. Gavin Newsom will propose creating a new version of the state’s successful Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which was phased out in 2023 after funding 594,000 cars and saving 456m gallons of fuel, the governor’s office said in a statement. Continue reading...

‘Our frontman walked into the studio, sat down with a bottle of tequila, salt and a lemon, listened to the track and started singing in a low voice’ Calling ourselves War was a positive thing: we were waging war against war and the conflicts going on in our back yard. Our weapons were our instruments, which fired rhythms, melodies and most of all harmony. We were a multi-ethnic band and we used our songs to bring peace and love. Continue reading...

As Ford announced cutting 800 UK jobs it said rules forcing companies to sell more EVs each year are ‘unworkable’ When Ford announced this week that it was cutting 800 jobs in the UK, the US carmaker also had stern words for the government. It has joined in a chorus of criticism of rules that force car companies to sell more electric vehicles each year. The rules, known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate , are simply “unworkable”, Ford said. Someone should have told Ford back in 2022, when the carmaker strongly backed the policy . In fact, it went further, calling for the British government to force carmakers to sell even more electric cars each year. Continue reading...

Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles says it has enough cash to support operations for only a week Business live – latest updates Northvolt, the Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, dealing a blow to Europe’s hopes that its most developed battery player would reduce western carmakers’ reliance on Chinese rivals. Northvolt said it had enough cash to support operations for only about a week and it had secured $100m (£80m) in new financing for the bankruptcy process. It said operations would continue as normal during the bankruptcy. Continue reading...

Billionaire CEO is well connected in the US and China, something that could smooth the road ahead for the electric vehicle maker amid a looming tariff war If it pays to have friends in high places, few among us can claim to be better placed than Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one of the only people to have cosy relationships with both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. His commercial and political connections to both may prove pivotal as the feud between the US and China plays out over the next four years, particularly as Trump promises steep tariffs. Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, once supported Joe Biden. But his relationship with the current US president soured over the past four years as, among other insults, Musk felt that the White House gave Telsa, his car and green energy company, “the cold shoulder”. Trump, meanwhile, has described Tesla as “incredible” even while pledging to do away with subsidies for electric vehicles. This year, Musk formally endorsed ...

Carmaker does not specify where British cuts will fall but Dagenham and Halewood will not be affected Business live – latest updates Ford has said that it will cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, becoming the latest carmaker to seek to reduce costs amid slowing growth in electric car sales and competition from China . The American carmaker said on Wednesday it would cut 800 jobs in the UK and 2,900 in Germany. The company’s UK sites in Dagenham and Halewood will not be affected. Continue reading...

Manufacturers want ministers to ease EV mandate, which would mean energy firms losing out Big UK businesses including Ovo, SSE and BT Openreach are urging the government to stick to current electric car targets as struggling carmakers pile pressure on ministers to relax the rules before industry talks this week. The businesses said the zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate , which forces carmakers to sell greater numbers of electric cars each year, is an essential part of the plan to reduce the carbon and air pollution emissions caused by vehicles on Britain’s roads. Continue reading...

General Motors unit to pay $500,000 fine after failing to disclose key details of 2023 San Francisco crash to NHTSA General Motors’ self-driving car unit, Cruise, admitted on Thursday to submitting a false report to influence a federal investigation and will pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the justice department said. The department said Cruise failed to disclose key details of an October 2023 crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in which one of its robotaxis in San Francisco struck a pedestrian after she was hit by another vehicle and dragged her 20ft (6.1 meters). Continue reading...

Ending $7,500 consumer tax credit could have grave implications for already stalling EV transition in US Donald Trump ’s transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Ending the tax credit could have grave implications for an already stalling US EV transition. And yet representatives of Tesla – by far the nation’s biggest EV maker – have told a Trump-transition committee they support ending the subsidy, said the two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. Continue reading...

‘Shifts in production’ expected if baseline tariffs on imported goods are imposed to benefit US auto manufacturing In 1964 the new US president was angry about European trade. Specifically about chickens. In response to Europe’s poultry trade barriers, Lyndon B Johnson imposed a 25% tariff on light trucks. That “chicken tax” is still in place 60 years later. The rules have contributed to the Ford’s F-Series pickup truck’s unbroken 42-year run as the bestselling vehicle in the US, and have locked European manufacturers out of a hugely profitable market for two generations. The chicken tax could also serve as a model for Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. Continue reading...

Instant boom enjoyed by some sectors belies complex decisions to be made on AI, monopolies and social media When the US election result pushed shares in the artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia to a record high and did the same to the price of bitcoin cryptocurrency, the market gave its verdict on what Trump redux means for at least parts of the technology world: a boom. Stock in the electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla surged by nearly 15%, which must have cheered its boss, Elon Musk, whom Trump called a “super genius” on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Government must take urgent steps to change UK travel behaviour if carbon dioxide reduction goals are to be met Europe-wide research has shown Britons are more willing than most Europeans to reduce their use of cars and aeroplanes – an essential requirement if carbon dioxide reduction targets are to be met. During the Covid pandemic, consumption of petrol, diesel and paraffin plummeted as government restrictions forced people to stay at home – the UK had the third-largest reduction after Austria and Sweden. Continue reading...

Luxury carmaker says it will reveal its first electric model – an ‘urban SUV’ – in 2026 Bentley Motors has said it will continue to sell fossil fuel cars until 2035 – five years later than previously planned – as the luxury carmaker announced its first electric vehicle will be an SUV. The British brand said it would reveal its electric “urban SUV” in 2026, in an update to its strategy on Thursday. Continue reading...

Japanese car maker to reduce global production capacity by 20% and cut sales budgets after loss in last quarter Nissan has announced it will cut 9,000 jobs from its global workforce as part of “urgent measures” to stop falling profits. The Japanese car manufacturer said it would also reduce global production capacity by 20% and cut its sales budgets after it slumped to a loss in the three months to the end of September. Continue reading...

Carmakers sell 29,800 electric cars in October as diesel models drop by a fifth and petrol cars by 14% Sales of electric cars in the UK grew in October despite overall demand for vehicles shrinking as manufacturers raced to meet government targets. Carmakers sold 29,800 electric cars during the month, up by a quarter compared with the same month last year, according to data published on Tuesday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Continue reading...

In the city of Zwickau, which has a proud history in the country’s mighty automobile industry, there are fears about the economic and political fallout Zwickau gained its nickname as the Detroit of east Germany thanks to the picturesque city’s pioneering role in the country’s mighty automobile industry, which is now facing a mortal threat from downsizing at Volkswagen. Like the Michigan metropolis, the city’s centre is marred by beautiful but abandoned old buildings bearing glum witness to the sector’s boom-and-bust cycles. The ornate art nouveau facades of the historic town centre, now filled with discount bakery chains and doner kebab shops, whisper of a glamorous bygone era of endless expansion. Continue reading...